Legal question?

Question

My younger brother was fired todaay from his job. He works for a wholesale club. On Sunday, A lady ran into his carts that he was pulling back into the store. The lady went into the store and says he hit her but according to him there was no ivestigation by the management and on top of that they gave the lady his home number and information, told her to contact him for damages to her car and fired him. The lady is calling him at home demanding to speak with him about the accident. Of course because she has his phone number, she also has his address. What should he do? I know it is NOT legal to give out an employees personal information no matter what so what step should he take next?

Another thing that really burns me is that if the lady has any internet knowledge she can access his address, and track him down where he lives.

In response to Polly, I understand your candor for the situation but my brother would not omit details from me, he knows he can trust me. Secondly, He doesn't really know what to ask, he is kind of frightened, I am 30 and he would rather come to me then my mom so there is your reasoning for me asking the question. I am pushing him to get an attorney but just wanted some second, third and fiftieth opions. The hive mind is much more productive. :)

Answer 1

He should contact an attorney immediately.

Stores are required to carry insurance to cover many things, and those types of accidents should fall under their insurance coverage.

Also, giving out personal information about employees in a situation like this is illegal, and he can, I believe, sue his former employer, or at least the idiot who handed out the information, for doing it.

Many states have laws which allow them to fire an employee for any reason, and your state may fall into that category, in which case he has no legal recourse about getting his job back. However, it sounds like the management at the store is trying to put all the blame and responsibility that they should be shouldering onto him, and that is illegal. They are responsible for what happens on their property.

Was he, by chance, working for the Wal-Mart corporation, like at a Sam's Club? I know they are in a lot of trouble and facing lawsuits in many states for their shoddy treatment of employees, and if that's the case here, it does not surprise me one bit.

An attorney will know how to proceed. He can get the ball rolling by sending a letter to your brother's former employer, telling them that he does not intend to pay for something which is covered by their insurance. An attorney can also help him get the woman off his back. She has absolutely no right to harrass him, but I would imagine that she is just acting on what she was told to do by the managers of the store.

In no case should he even talk with the woman if he can help it. Even an innocent admission of being sorry the accident took place can be used later to show that he felt he was responsible for the accident. He needs to get legal representation, and let the attorney speak for him in all things.

If there is a website for your state's Bar Association, and there should be one somewhere on the internet, it should list resources where he can get help either for free or on a sliding scale so that he doesn't have to fork out hundreds of dollars for help.

I am so sorry he is stuck dealing with this. He did nothing wrong. I hope it all works out okay.

Answer 2

First, why isn't your brother asking this question. I'm wondering if he's telling you the real story, since most people who get fired are ashamed and some will make up stories that make people sympathetic, rather than call them out on their behavior. And I am not saying that things didn't happen as you say. Just that your brother sounds young and immature. Why are you going to his rescue? Part of growing up is learning to take care of your own business. If he's 15, 16 years old I can understand your helping him but 17, 18 and above, not so much.

Since he probably wasn't making much money, find a legal aid service in your community, find representation and have that wholesale club put on notice for breaching the right to privacy that we all should have. If this truly happened as he said, someone made a grave mistake.

Remember though, most issues like this don't get a person much of anything but grief. Choose your battles carefully.

I'm not an attorney, but have been through a lot of crap in this life, unfortunately.

Good luck to you and your brother.

Answer 3

Since there was an accident with damages it probably is OK to give out phone numbers. If this happened in the store parking lot I would think that there would be a security camera, and that the boss would have checked this if there were any question as to who was at fault. The store should have insurance to cover this and I would tell the lady to contact the store as their coverage would be responsible for fixing any damage as your brother was an employee at the time and was working for the store when this happened.

Answer 4

i am not a nice person some times. especially if someone is doing me wrong.

does the wholesale market have cameras in the parking lot? (sam's club and costco usually do). if so demand dto see them.

phone number...that shouldnt have been given out. even if someone comes in off the street that supposedly knows you...businesses can not give it out. why are they giving it to a stranger.

where was the car hit. if you look at the car...most likely you will be able to re-construct the scene.

the store should be some what responsible if not fully responsible and should have the employee's back. and help them out with the customer.

i would tell her...it happened on the clock their for she needs to talk to (manager or what ever)

and go up the food chain...talk to the manager of the store ect. if they are not happy with the result go up the food chain.

and i would find out the legalities on the giving out the phone number cause that is the personal phone number and that is BS to say it lightly.

oh did anyone report this to the police?

i would talk to a lawyer. especially if he was fired over this. got any lawyers in the family?

oh! beings that little old lady has his information. he needs to have her information!!!!!! or did the dumb a##es at the wholesale store forget that part too?

find out your rights

good luck

Answer 5

First of all....losing his job is the 2nd issue now...that can be dealt with later....IF your bro truly did not hit her, but she hit him then he needs to be adamant about proving his innocence.. First of all, he needs to talk to a lawyer (find one willing to work pro-bono based on his account of the incident) to prepare in case the lady actually tries to come after him legally. Also, he needs the lawyer to leverage legal weight to obtain the security videotape from the parking lot cams that ANY wholesale club would have. That is the ticket to proving what really happened. The wholesale club will have to either produce the tapes from that timeframe or they would look suspect if they can't produce them...
EITHER WAY.... unless your bro did something maliciously with intent, any accident caused by him while doing his job there would have to fall on the company, not the individual employee. The accident happened on their property by their employee... they are liable for any damages. If they want to fire your bro because of this incident, that's probably legally within their rights, even if he can subsequently prove his innocence through the surveillance tapes. He should counter-sue his former employer for breach of confidentiality. They did not have the right to give out his personal information to some lady on the street making a complaint. He iwas their employee.

Answer 6

Most importantly;

As an employee of that store, you brother was acting as an "agent" (legally correct term) of theirs. Therefore, the store is responsible for any damage he may or may not have caused while on the clock.

Your brother is in no way responsible for that damage. He was acting as an agent of the employer. Whether he was at fault or not, the store is responsible.

Do not talk to this woman. Period. You may seek an attorney if you like, but I don't think you should need to. The woman should turn this in to her insurance company whether she was at fault of not. The insurance company will go for the store, not your brother. She's just trying to get this paid for without turning it in.

Furthermore, if this happened in the store's parking lot, that is private property. Police have no jurisdiction there, just in case she tries to pull that.

Don't be a patsy and give her the money. The store IS responsible.

Good luck, Buddy!

Answer 7

He needs a lawyer. He can probably sue his former employer for giving out his personal information as well as for wrongful termination. The woman has no recourse-- since the accident happened on private property, neither of them can be cited. Next time she calls, tell her that all future correspondence on that matter should be directed to his lawyer. If she continues calling, and if she ever comes to his personal residence, he can get a restraining order against her. But the first step is to get a lawyer.

Answer 8

Tell him to get a lawyer. He has a case. They have to have witnesses or a video or something. He should have called the police and made a report since she had a fit. This is a private property accident accept that he was at work. Soooo, they are responsible as well as him as his employer. Her insurance should pay the damage and then she should have to deal with the wholesale clubs insurance.

Answer 9

He should definitely call a lawyer - most lawyers will give 1/2 hour to an hour of advice for free. The store should be held responsible, not your brother, as it was on the store's property, by a store employee. He can also have the store fined for improper dismissal, and for breaching the Privacy Act.

Answer 10

He should contact the district manager of the warehouse and let them know the issue. He could also sue for unfair treatment and even seek damages caused by his place of business. There has to be more to the story than what you are getting. If he can afford it he needs to speak to legal help. He's got a good case. He also needs to change his phone number! If he has the lady's name, phone number or anything else pertaining to her he can get a restraining order too. But he needs to get a lawyer first.